Wednesday, June 10, 2015

30 St Mary Axe

INTRODUCTION:

Our team formed by Diego Iván Benitez, Juan Barahona and Pelayo Díaz has chosen the 30 St Mary Axe (widely known informally as The Gherkin) which is in London, UK. The author of this building is Norman Foster and it was finished on 2003. It is the second tallest building of London.The Gherkin is an exciting piece of art. It is modern,beautiful, radical, glitering, smart and imposing.

ARCHITECT BIOGRAPHY

NORMAN FOSTER, the architect, baron Foster of Thames Bank, was born

on 1st June 1935 in the England. His company: Foster and Partners,

maintains an international design practice famous for high-tech architecture.

He is one of the most prolific architects of his generation. Awarded the Pritzer

Architecture prize, which is like the Nobel Prize of Architecture. In 2009

Foster Was awarded the prince of Asturias Award in the Arts category.

He was assigned the reconstruction of the former Baltic Exchange,

which had been damaged by a bomb left by the IRA. His team presented

a plan for a 385 meters-tall skyscraper, The London Millenium Tower but

its height was seen as excessive for London´s skyline. Instead, Foster proposed

30 St Mary Axe, often known as “The Gherkin” after its shape.

Foster and Partners also worked on reknowed buildings such as the renovated

Reichstag in Berlin, London City Hall and Wembley Stadium. They are known

for their innovative designs, which stand out against the most conservative designs

HISTORY AND CHARACTERISITCS OF THE BUILDING

The building stands on the former site of the Baltic Exchange, the headquarters of a global marketplace for ship sales and shipping information. On 10 April 1992 the Provisional IRA detonated a bomb close to the Exchange, causing extensive damage to the historic building and neighbouring structures.[

The United Kingdom government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, Englishand the City of London's governing body, the City of London Corporation, were keen that any redevelopment must restore the building's old façade onto St Mary Axe. The Exchange Hall was a celebrated fixture of the ship trading company. The Gherkin name was applied to the current building at least as far back as 1999, referring to that plan's highly unorthodox layout and appearance.

30 St Mary Axe: “ THE Gherkin” is one of the most important landmarks in London. It is a distinctive skyscraper located in the finantial district of London. It has a unique form, a conical form.It uses sustainable energy ideas and its design is energy-efficient. It hasopen shafts between each floor that act as ventilation for the building. Theshafts pull warm air out of the building during the summer and use passive heat from the sun to bring heat into the building during the winter. Theshafts also allow sunlight to penetrate into the building to cut down on light costs. It is said that the Gherkin uses only half of the energy that a similar tower of that size would use.

Today the Gherkin is mainly an office building used as the headquarters of many large companies like Sky News or Swiss Re. Some popular TV shows and radio shows arefilmed here or near the building.The Gherkin adjusts to London´s weather. If the sun is shining, it closes itself down by adjusting the building.

STRUCTURE AND MATERIALSIt is a curved diagon, with a rounded end that looks like a stretched egg. It is a smart building, its like a livingcreature with a computer as a brain that adjusts to the weather.

It is covered outside with glass panels. It has a lens-like dome at the top that is used as an observation deck.

MEASURES OF THE BUILDING

Height to top of dome : 179,8mHeight to highest occupied floor level: 167,1mNumber of floors above ground: 40It is also a masterpiece of colour and shade.

IMPRESSIONS

The building has become an iconic symbol of London and is one of the city's most widely recognised examples of contemporary architecture.Most people say it is unique because the other constructions that are near it are much more traditional.